Fantasy basketball: LaMelo Ball taking part in 70+ video games and different daring predictions for 2025-26

Sometimes it takes an knowledgeable’s eye to see one thing earlier than everybody else does, corresponding to Tyler Herro ending No. 13 on the Player Rater, or Ivica Zubac placing up 16.8 PPG and 12.6 RPG, like every of them did final season.

How many individuals noticed this coming?

If you probably did, you had a significant leg up on the competitors in your fantasy basketball leagues — that is for certain!

With that in thoughts, we gathered our fantasy basketball specialists — André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and Steve Alexander — and tasked them with detailing their boldest fantasy predictions for 2025-26.

Brandon Miller will end within the prime 40 on the Player Rater

Currently going eighty fifth on common in ESPN reside drafts, Miller’s teaching employees already trusts him to seek out his personal shot, and his capacity to create offense for others is barely rising. With the potential to loft an absurd variety of 3-pointers per recreation and his knack for amassing defensive numbers, he might observe the Trey Murphy III path to changing into a particular 3-and-D fantasy wing as early as this season. Few gamers his measurement are this expert at each slashing and taking pictures, making Miller an outlier at his place. — McCormick

Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard will each end prime 50 in fantasy factors this season, and a minimum of one in all them will end within the prime 20

Embiid and Leonard are each ultra-elite fantasy hoops performers on a per-game foundation which have a historical past of lacking important portions of time. Last season, they missed a mixed 108 of the potential 164 video games. But I search for this season to be bounce-backs for each. Both are getting into the season comparatively wholesome and all it could take is 60-65 video games at their typical ranges to succeed in these milestones. — Snellings

Four Celtics will end among the many prime 10 in made 3-pointers this season, even with Tatum out

No crew has tried and made extra 3-pointers than final season’s Boston Celtics, and that can hardly change simply because star Jayson Tatum is out for many, if not everything, of the season. Four Celtics — Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Anfernee Simons and Sam Hauser — will end among the many prime 10 in 3s made this season, whereas a fifth (main scorer Jaylen Brown) will come shut. — Karabell

Matas Buzelis can be a top-25 fantasy participant

I foresee the Bulls beginning him and giving him round half-hour per recreation, and his stat set is constructed for fantasy, hopefully offering blocks, steals, 3-pointers, rebounds and blocks. He’s being ignored till later in drafts after final season’s less-than-stellar numbers, however he has as a lot upside as nearly any participant on this 12 months’s drafts. I’m making an attempt to get him in every single place. — Alexander

LaMelo Ball performs greater than 70 video games

Ball has elite fantasy upside when he is on the ground. Everyone is aware of that. He averaged 25.2 PPG, 7.4 APG, 4.9 RPG and three.8 3-pointers final season, displaying his all-around affect. The challenge has at all times been well being, with simply 105 video games performed over the previous three seasons. I feel that is the season Ball performs greater than 70 video games. He is barely 24, is totally recovered from ankle and wrist surgical procedures, and Charlotte’s added depth ought to assist handle his workload. If he stays on the courtroom, he has top-15 fantasy potential. — Moody